What's tougher to do: haul in a pass in a college football game with thousands of fans' eyes on you, or live in a house with 11 children and only one bathroom?

Terrance Phillips knows. He's done both. He admits the latter.

The Mississippi born, now Sharon, Penn. resident grew up the oldest of 11 and has since taken part in a roller coaster ride as a Penn State wide receiver that has seen him go from a go-to wideout to being buried in the depth chart and back again.

After his performance against Ohio State where he made two catches for 47 yards, the redshirt sophomore looks to make the most of his chance to shine in a very populated receiver pool.

"I felt a little frustrated but also knew that I had to work harder to get in the game and just try to stay focused on working hard," Phillips said. "Not playing when I really wanted to play was frustrating."

While his numbers aren't impressive, it's the context of his catches that is what has many on the team excited.

Both came at critical junctures in the game. Both were not the easiest balls to catch.

"I think Terrance was just waiting for his opportunity," Penn State quarterback Zack Mills said. "Prior to this game, he hadn't had one. I thought I put the ball in an area for the receivers to make some plays. There are times when I didn't, but he made plays."

Things started to come together at the end of last season. Playing behind Tony Johnson, Gerald Smith and Bryant Johnson, Phillips saw a small amount of playing time.

With Bryant Johnson gone, the question surrounding spring and summer practices was who was going to step into his shoes.

Instead of one player filling in for the departed wideout, the coaching staff elected to rotate half a dozen players.

In his first attempt to separate himself from the pack, in the Lions' game against Temple, he dropped an easy pass early in the game. His playing time became even more limited after that.

It became hard to stand out in the crowd, especially when he wasn't getting on the field.

"I think we were all thinking that Bryant was a great receiver and it was going to be hard to replace a receiver like him," Phillips said. "In our minds we were all fighting to replace Bryant Johnson."

But all it took was one strong showing to move him back up the depth chart.

"I'm a patient person by nature, but I've always been anxious to get in there and make plays and just have fun with the team," Phillips said. "I try to be patient with it and it worked out fine."

That's what growing up the oldest of 11 will do; it instills patience.

"That was interesting," Phillips said. "Growing up with 11 other brothers and sisters, I felt like a little pressure as a brother and father figure. Taking responsibility and being the older brother, I tried to set a path for them to follow by setting an example."

He's not just a wide receiver.

He's also a renaissance man.

"I write songs, poetry a little bit when I have time," Phillips said. "I just bought this keyboard that I have no idea how to play."

Phillips said his favorite poem is entitled "Pure Woman" which is a tribute to his girlfriend Danielle.

"Poetry was something that I always did when I was young to clear my mind of certain thoughts that I had," Phillips said.

Still, the elder Phillips' sibling remembers the time when he wasn't fighting to pull in catches; he was fighting for the bathroom.

"We had one bathroom, so you had to get up real early," Phillips said. "The girls would get up real early and sometimes they would take forever. Guys didn't take that long."